Ever since I posted about the Royal Canin/loose stool issue I have with my golden, I've been researching like crazy. You guys have opened my eyes!! Well, based on what I've read it sounds like Solid Gold is something that I must try... and to my utter surprise they sell it at a local pet store here. The bummer is they don't carry the WolfCub food, just WolfKing. He's 4 months old now. I've read on other sites that some people feed an adult food from day one. What's the difference between thier puppy and adult foods? Some Nutro rep was there trying to sell me thier stuff and she said puppy foods have more protein and fats to promote growth. Since I'm making such a huge leap in quality of ingredients from RC to WolfKing, would that help to justify feeding the adult version of the food that contains less protein and fat?

Again, I'm a new dog owner so be gentle :) This sure seems like the right thing to do based on all the positve results I'm reading about. Thanks in advance.

phoenix

May 27th, 2006, 12:48 AM

You have a golden? How old?
I would not feed puppy food for too long (maybe 7 to 8 months or so...) I know that there is a Solid Gold cult around here ;) I am not one of the fans of that company... but I do think the wk is a good food. Someone with goldens might want to comment on this... but large breeds actually need SLOWER growth formulas as puppies, not faster growth... If they are encouraged to grow fast with rich formulas, their weight and musculature can outgrow their ligaments/tendons and they may be prone to dysplasia, bone problems, I am not sure...

This seems like a good article to start with: http://www.ilovemypet.com/jackart.html

What you would have to do is ensure the adult formula you want to try (wk?)has the correct Ca levels and check out the fat levels.
One thing, as you are beginning to learn about all of this food stuff... no one can tell you what the best food is except your dog. Some foods are remarkable for certain dogs while others don't like/don't thrive on/are allergic to ingredients in it... etc. It takes patience, experimentation and a bit of time.

sintaks

May 27th, 2006, 06:56 AM

He's 4 months old. I've noticed that the WolfKing has lower levels of protein and fat than my current food... and the ingredients, well, there's no comparison. I've read mixed things about large breed dogs and their food. Some say to feed a food with high levels of protein and fat, some say feed a food with low levels. Which is correct? What you stated makes perfect sense about the dysplaysia, etc. I read once that feeding a lower protein food won't hinder the amount a dog will grow, but rather the rate at which it will grow. Frankly, the amount of information out there is staggering and I can't figure out what's correct and what's not. I know this much, I want to feed him the best possible dry food that I can. WolfKing looks marvelous and I want to try it. It's just a matter of whether I can feed an adult food to him now.

BMDLuver

May 27th, 2006, 09:09 AM

What's his bodyweight right now?

I work primarily with xlarge breeds and we have a Berner pup right now that is 50lbs at 4.5months... he's now on hollistic adult as he's growing rapidly already and we prefer to lower some levels to keep his weight optimum and growth spurts reduced.

Quite honestly, my belief is if it's a good Hollistic then the difference between pup and adult is not large enough to be of concern but remember that's JMHO.

sintaks

May 27th, 2006, 09:24 AM

He's 33 lbs. Phoenix's response kind of scares me. That is, finding the correct food is a slow process that requires experimentation. I mean, I don't mind slow experimentation, but if the first few month's nutrition levels are crucial to the rest of my dog's life, it doesn't sound like I should be tinkering too much. If those months really matter the most, sounds like he should be on the best food possible and stay on it. I'm hoping some of the WolfKing advocates chime in here :)

phoenix

May 27th, 2006, 05:06 PM

Sorry didn't mean to scare you. I just meant that maybe wolf king will be great for your dog and maybe it won't... it depends on the dog. You may get the food right on the first try and you may not. I completely agree with BMD- a holistic adult food is a great choice and you will not go wrong nutritionally... it's just that dogs are all different. You have chosen what I think everyone will agree is an excellent food... but it isn't the only holistic food out there, and bear that in mind if, after a few months, it isn't agreeing with your dog. To be honest, the reason I don't choose this food is because I think the company uses scare tactics and unfair advertising, and I don't want to support that. HOWEVER< they do seem to make a good food. I would say if you are concerned about your dog's nutrition now, the holistic adult is better than supermarket food by 100x... maybe more...

Protein isn't the factor you need to look at. It's calcium levels and fat. As BMD said, you don't want rapid growth spurts with xl/l dogs... you want slow sustained growth. Can your store order you a couple of large bag of the wolf cub ... this would tide you over for a few months and then you could switch to the adult formula??

sintaks

May 27th, 2006, 06:15 PM

I thought about that as well as possibly ordering some off the Internet and get it shipped overnight. The vaccum sealed bag should keep it fresh for awhile I would think. I very much appreciate your advice and help. My sister has a lab and feeds him Wysong with great results. I may look into that food as well.

Prin

May 27th, 2006, 07:07 PM

The problem with feeding an adult food is that the calcium is not balanced for bone growth... I know I emailed Solid Gold about this before, but I can't remember the calcium content of Wolf King. If you email them about it and they say there is less than 1.5% calcium, it might be ok. But it's still less dense than the puppy version, so you'd have to feed a bit more.

There are a few others, but I have to say that in my searches for puppy foods, it is so hard to find one without fillers. Even good brands that normally don't have corn sometimes put it in the puppy food. I don't know why- probably to boost the numbers (caloric content and protein content mostly).

Good luck!

phoenix

May 27th, 2006, 07:38 PM

Have you looked at canidae (all life stages)? I have had great results with it and it is quite economical too. They don't make a puppy food. My boxer has been on it since she was 10 weeks old.

Prin

May 27th, 2006, 07:42 PM

Yeah, that one is ok too. The Wellness Super5Mix Puppy is good too.

sintaks

May 28th, 2006, 01:01 PM

Prin, did you ever post that adding water to a dogs dry food could help with digestion and thus loose stool? I am definately going to switch to either WolfKing or Wellness, but I have SOOO much of his current food left. I'd like to use it up. I tried the water thing today and wondered if it will help at all. Thanks, as always.

Prin

May 29th, 2006, 01:18 AM

No, I never said that... Adding water to food with citric acid can cause bloat as when water is added, gas is released, so you have to be careful. I don't add water, personally, but I do add canned food every now and then though, but that's more of a supplement thing than a digestive aid. To get the stool firmer on holistic food, try cutting back a bit and then see what happens. If the stool doesn't firm up at all when you cut back, you might have to try something else.

If it's not a holistic food, chances are there are tons of stool hardeners already in the food, and if the stool isn't solid with all those, you really need a new food.

Melei'sMom

May 29th, 2006, 02:15 AM

I am definately going to switch to either WolfKing or Wellness, but I have SOOO much of his current food left. I'd like to use it up.

If you want to switch so that he has a better food, why would you continue to feed the lesser food?
I talked to my food bank when I switched Melei to raw, and they took all her kibble so that people with pets could have some for their dogs. or you could give it to a shelter or rescue. for cash strapped families or shelters, lower quality is still better than no food.
You don't have to feed it to your pup and if you give it to an org. that needs it then nothing goes to waste.

mafiaprincess

May 29th, 2006, 02:26 AM

Shelters locally won't take opened food.. Might be different elsewhere though.

Only food I ever tossed was iams when I figured out how bad it was. Iams refunded me cause she wouldn't eat it, they didn't want the bag. Shelter wouldn't take opened food.. So the bf of the time gave it to his cousin's dogs (yuck).

All the foods from nutro to higher quality stuff I didn't really want to pitch, so some of them I fed 50/50 until we got near the end of the food I wanted gone. Not the best, for the lower quality stuff, but I don't really like to see it in the trash/ throw away a buch of money when the bag was still pretty full. I understand.

phoenix

May 29th, 2006, 07:18 AM

sintaks, I pm'd you.

My independent shelter/rescue does take opened bags of treats and dog food. I guess you just have to call and ask.

buffytwin

May 29th, 2006, 11:29 AM

I had a question actually about WolfKing also so thought i'd just reply it in here... Hope thats okay? My 10 and a half month old boxer eats WolfKing, by Solid Gold and everything is fine except he has a lot of gas. Our vet said its probably normal, as he did have some tests ran a week or so back and everything came back okay, but does that sound normal to everyone here? And boy does it stink, its awful! He has it quite often, I'd say atleast 4 to 5 times a week... Could it be the food? Should we try him on something else or does it sound okay? He's always been on Solid Gold, he was on the puppy food then changed to Wolfking about 2 months ago.

Prin

May 29th, 2006, 11:02 PM

Switching to another food might help with the gas. Wolf King is a good food, but it doesn't agree with all dogs. Boxers are gassy, but still, changing foods might reduce it a bit- if you find the right food.:rolleyes:

And as the others suggested in the "bomb" thread, probiotics might help. :)

phoenix

May 29th, 2006, 11:52 PM

ya it is probably a boxer thing. somehow i don't think it is the food if it is only periodically bad... do you give treats or meat or dinner scraps sporadically? I find when Maia gets back from being babysat at the farm with 'grandpa', she has the worst gas, because he feeds her anything when she stares at him with those big ol brown eyes...

buffytwin

May 30th, 2006, 09:01 AM

lol, ya I'm just learning now that it's probably a Boxer thing, haha.. No we never give him any kind of table scraps or anything like that. Only human food we give him is in his stuffed kongs such as Yogurt, Peanutbutter or Cream Cheese, although I've heard that Yogurt helps so we may just stick to that. And ya its not every single day, there are days where he has none, so maybe those were the days he had a yogurt kong, lol... We give him treats, forget what their called but they are healthy and even have yogurt in them, haha... Comes in an Orange Box. So now that I've read more about it I'm sure its just a Boxer trait. He loves the food, and I find that his coat is so soft and shiny, and seems all round healthy that I don't think we'll change it now, learning what I've learned here:) Thanks guys!

Prin

May 30th, 2006, 12:26 PM

Make sure it's plain yogurt without any artificial sweeteners. Some with fake sweeteners have xyletol in them which is toxic to dogs.